Liberation theology

Liberation theology is a movement that originated within the Catholic Church in Latin America during the 1950s. The movement was made possible by the greater room for regional diversity following the Second Vatican Council of 1962-5, and emerged from the Conference of Latin American Bishops in Medellin, Colombia in 1968. The conference denounced capitalism and communism as equally opposed to human dignity, and blamed the rich and powerful for the misery of the hungry and the poor. In order to liberate the poor, it called for the establishment of local comunidades de base, Christian commnities of around 15 people each, self-help groups in religious as well as secular, economic matters. The movement spread rapidly, and predictably met with fierce opposition from the elites. Hence, one of the movement's leading proponents, Archbishop Oscar Romero, was murdered in El Salvador in 1980. At the esame time, it has been opposed by the Vatican through fear of the politicization of the church. In 1985, the Vatican withdrew its teaching license from the leading liberation theologian, the Brazilian Leonardo Boff, because of his support for armed struggle as a last resort.